Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementUnder the order, workers will be paid a minimum hourly rate for "engaged" time, covering the ⁠period between accepting a job and completing the delivery. "Gig workers in Australia were left outside of our workplace systems for far too long. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementUber Eats and DoorDash, which has been diversifying beyond ​restaurant deliveries, said the new rules would show ​that stronger worker protections and the flexibility ​valued by gig workers can go hand in hand. Unions and workers ‌have long pushed for reforms covering gig ​workers, who are typically ​classified as independent contractors rather than employees and therefore excluded from many workplace protections. Australia's parliament passed laws in 2023 and 2024 under the centre-left Labor government that ​gave gig workers greater ‌rights to negotiate minimum pay and conditions.